


Dragons: The Shardbearer Chronicles

by MaeaStorm



Series: The Shardbearer Chronicles [1]
Category: DreamWorks Dragons (Cartoon), How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe- Gods, Angst, Blood, Dark, Dragons, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gore, Krogan Lives, Multi, Prophecy, Transformation, he's a bit banged up but he's still okay, mentions of self harm, post httyd 3, trollhunters references
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:08:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26716516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaeaStorm/pseuds/MaeaStorm
Summary: After coming to Hiccup and the Riders with a problem to deal with Drago, Krogan finds himself shrouded in the webs of old mysteries and prophecies that are now finally starting to come true and be revealed, as he now has the Shard of Natla- a relic of the old dragon gods and the gods of humanity's peacetime- embedded in his heart, and slowly forcing itself into him, causing him to be faced with the consequences of  what a Shardbearer is like.
Relationships: Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III/Astrid Hofferson
Series: The Shardbearer Chronicles [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1944304
Kudos: 1





	Dragons: The Shardbearer Chronicles

**Author's Note:**

> More Characters and relationships will come in the future, I'm just tagging them now so I don't forget

_ Once, when the land was peaceful and calm, the gods of both dragon and humankind made a talisman that would bind the two together with a link of magic, honed between an individual that was chosen by the talisman- the Shard of Natla. _

_ Every five millennia, a new guardian of the Shard would be chosen. _

_ But then, the wars started between the humans and the dragons, disrupting the balance of the Shard’s guardian, and the Shard was thrown into the deepest ocean, to be found when it was ready to choose another soul. _

_ But, to stop the conflict, the Shard would need a soul like one it had never chosen before. _

_ A strong, fierce soul, pure of heart, but tinged with black from a dark, dangerous path. The shard would be taken by the new guardian in the chest, and the process of the change would be long and painful. _

_ But, the new Guardian would be ready for their next path. _

_ For their new task would be to bridge the gap between both dragon, and human. _

_ The final Shardbearer would need to be human. _

Krogan knew the Dragon Riders had gotten his message. They had to have- Hiccup had sent a terror back confirming that he and the others would meet him here. Hiccup also warned him about what would happen if he tried anything.

Krogan had long ago gotten rid of any connections he’d had with Drago- he’d destroyed the pin he’d worn, and ripped into his scarred brand to destroy it. Now, he simply wore his cloak with a plain, silver buckle, and he’d swapped his belt out for a simple leather one. 

Scars that weren’t originally there now marred his face and throat. One was thin and pale, and it stretched across his nose, from his cheek, and ended above his eyebrow. Another crossed his throat, and others still were scattered around his face.

Krogan leaned back against one of the sizable boulders in the small clearing, his chocolate eyes glancing around lazily, as he tried to spot Hiccup’s emergence from the forest- he knew the boy wouldn’t come alone- considering Hiccup had never seen his handwriting and would have been suspicious about it.

Then, there was the sound of multiple wingbeats, and Krogan breathed a deep, even sigh of relief, his eyes glancing up towards the full moon- the moonlight gleaming and glinting in their soft, chocolate depths, overlaying them with a bluish light.

He quickly spotted the Night Fury that Hiccup rode, along with the Nadder, a Hideous Zippleback, a Gronkle, and a Monstrous Nightmare.

They landed in the clearing, and the Night Fury rider quickly dismounted, glancing around the clearing momentarily, before his eyes landed on him.

Hiccup’s eyes narrowed in hostility, and Krogan put his hands up in surrender.

“I am not here to harm you, Haddock.” he said gently, before raising himself from his slightly slouched position, although carefully- he didn’t want them to think he was a threat, and he definitely didn’t want a fight.

The blonde girl behind Hiccup snarled.

“And why should we believe you, of all people?” She hissed, and Krogan sighed, putting a hand up to his face tiredly- he’d prepared most of the night for this, and he didn’t want this ruined by the blonde’s insults.

“Because I have valuable information,” he started, only to be interrupted by her again.

“And? You are an enemy, Krogan. Why would you give us information?” She snapped, and the others got into a fighting stance.

Krogan sighed deeply.

“I do not work for Drago Bludvist anymore.” he stated. “Haven’t you seen the wanted posters? I have a bounty on my head.” he stated irately.

Hiccup raises his eyebrows.

“What for?” he asked slowly, sounding reproachful.

“Probably because old Krogie-Poo failed!” Ruffnut snickered, and Hiccup shot her a glare.

“What?” She asked, shrugging.

“We don’t want this ending with bloodshed, Ruffn-”

“It’s the truth, Hiccup.” Krogan mumbled. “He wants me put to death by his hands.” He looked away nervously, and his cheeks flushed brightly with embarrassment.

“Wait… Drago is alive?” Hiccup asked, and Krogan nodded.

“He’s coming for you.”

____________________________________________

The halls echoed with the screams and cries and terrified dragons, even though their cages were hung far above Krogan’s head, and the hall was lined by various trinkets that all glittered and glowed softly.

Behind Krogan, were the dragon riders, bound just as he was, and he could feel Haddock’s eyes glaring into his back.

Krogan’s eyes fluttered closed, and he turned his head to look at Hiccup, who narrowed his eyes angrily.

“This is your fault,” Hiccup snarled, and Krogan nodded, although he felt something tingling at the back of his mind- something that made his stomach churn with nausea.

The feeling gets stronger as they travel down the hall.

“It may be my fault, Haddock, but I di-” pain slammed into his chest, and Krogan’s vision went white- everyone’s did, as the violent, blue flash of light and shattering glass erupted from the right side of Krogan’s chest .

Krogan screeched in agony, blood being flung out of him, as it crawled down his chest and onto the floor beneath him.

When his vision fizzles back into being, he is laying on the floor, his eyes watering from the pain that was slamming into him.

Krogan curled in on himself, only to hiss sharply in distress at the thing that was protruding from his chest.

He swallowed thickly, and then he gazed down at his chest, dimly aware of the hands clutching his shoulders, and… Hiccup’s worried voice, too focused on the shard that was sticking out of his chest to care.

The glittering, pearlescent and gleaming object was longer than his forearm, but it was embedded in his…

Krogan’s vision danced with spots. He swallowed thickly, and his eyes glazed over.

The Shard was embedded in his heart.

He was shaken, and the man blinked out of his stupor when a hand grasped at the shard, and tried to pull it out.

Krogan gave a sharp wail of pain, reeling away from the hands. His eyes focused on the blurry faces of the dragon riders surrounding him.

Slowly, their faces started to come back into focus, even if the edges of his vision still danced with spots. He blinked, and clutched at the Shard with his own hand, his chest heaving in pain. His breaths came out in thick, wheezing pants, while he ran his fingers up and down the length of the Shard.

The shard was warm, and it was sapping the heat from his own body.

He shivered at that realization, and he pulled his hands away, watching them shake like dead leaves that were ready to fall from a tree in the fall. Krogan’s eyes then fell down to his wound. Confusion bubbled in his gut at the sight of his own blood. As it oozed down his chest, he eyes the changing colors- it swiftly shifted from a bright, bloody crimson, to a strange, opalescent white, that glimmered and shifted colors in the light of the torches, and the soft, blue glow of the Shard.

Krogan’s eyes fluttered in confusion, and he glanced up into Hiccup’s emerald green eyes, which had been covered with a shroud of confusion.

Hiccup once again placed a gentle hand on the Shard. Krogan shoved his hand away with a whine of pain.

“No, stop it- ah!” Krogan cried out sharply. The motion jarred his lungs, and he began coughing violently, splattering blood down his chin.

By the time it stopped, his chest and his heart were throbbing violently in agony.

Krogan gave a soft moan of pain, as he clutched at his head, and tried to rub away his building headache.

Hiccup pawed at the Shard again, and Krogan reeled up onto his feet. His head spun with darkness, and he gave a soft whine of pain. His legs trembled underneath his own weight, as if they were unable to hold him, even though his head danced with stars.

Hiccup tried to steady him, but Krogan pulled away from him like he’d been burnt. Rage fluttered in his stomach, and he shot Hiccup a glare, unnoticing of the young man’s concern.

“Get away from me,” He snapped irately. He turns away from them, and starts to limp his way back down the corridor they had been being led down.

Krogan squeezed his eyes shut. He froze up, and dropped to the ground with a screech of agony, wheezing and puffing like he’d just been running. The shard started to shift in his chest, forcing its way into his heart, and causing more blood to drip and drool down his chest. 

As abruptly as the pain came, it was gone again, and he was left there, laying on the ground and panting with exertion.

“Krogan?” Soft, delicate hands wrap around his shoulders, and he finds himself staring at Ingerman, whose eyebrows are set in worry.

The young man looks behind him, and he then glances back at Krogan.

Krogan blinked at him blearily, and he gave a small whine of pain.

Unknowing to him, his eyes have turned pupiless and opalescent as well, and the Shard was slowly starting to curl its magic around his soul. 

Converting his signal to match it’s own.

____________________________________________

Hiccup inclined his head slightly, his eyes narrowing slightly. 

The strange object in Krogan’s chest was gleaming in the light, sometimes flaring with its own sputtering, blue glow, but otherwise, it was still. 

They were lucky- the rush of power had seemed to have knocked the guards out around them- if not having outright killed them- but Krogan was clearly disoriented and in pain- and he was bleeding.

At least Hiccup thought he was- his blood looked like a liquid flow of opals in the light of the torches.

“Fishlegs he needs Gothi.” he mumbled to his friend, to the obvious outcry of the others, which he quickly tried to silence.

“Calm down, please.” He mumbled, even as Astrid gave a low growl.

“Hiccup, he’s the one who got us into this mess in the first place!” Astrid snarled, and Hiccup raised his hands towards her.

“Astrid, please, he needs help.” he grunted. “And we can’t leave him here.”

Hiccup sighed in contentment at the silence that rushed over the group, and he looked over at Krogan with a frown. 

He was unconscious, his breathing deep and even despite the shard embedded in his chest.

“Fishlegs, can you carry him?”

___________________________________________

The flight back seemed long and tiring, as almost immediately after they took to the air, Krogan had gotten restless from the movement of the dragons underneath him- even if Meatlug was a smooth, gentle flyer, she did have some problems with taking off and landing.

Fishlegs took Krogan immediately to Gothi, and Hiccup and the others went to let Stoick know what had happened.

The moment that the old woman opened the door for Fishlegs, she got a wide-eyed smile on her face, as she then rushed Fishlegs over to the small cot, and urged him to place Krogan down, which he did.

“Gothi what’s the matter?” he asked quietly. At his question, the old woman began scribbling furiously on the ground, which confused Fishlegs immensely.

“Prophecy?” he questioned in confusion.

Krogan opened his eyes, and he moaned loudly. 

Fishlegs gave his hand a gentle squeeze, as Gothi stopped writing, and he was able to read the entirety of the message.

_ Krogan is the next Shardbearer. His transition will be slow because the Shard hasn’t had a proper vessel in over ten millennia. _

Krogan groaned again, and he rolled his head to the side, facing away from Fishlegs. He tried to close his eyes, and he gave a shaky sigh.

Fishlegs squeezed his hand again, and he shook his head. 

“You’re going to be okay, Krogan.” he stated softly, and Krogan rolled his head back over to face him, his pulpiless, opal eyes gleaming tiredly.

Fishlegs looked back towards Gothi, who was busy browsing her bookshelf.

“Gothi says you aren’t dying, but she…” Fishlegs gazed back towards Krogan, who gave a whimpered huff of pain. He winced, cutting himself off for the moment.

Fishlegs steeled himself, pulling in a sharp breath of air, and then letting it back out.

“She says you are the next Shardbearer?” He questions quietly, more confused than anything else. “Whatever that is.”

Fishlegs watches Krogan look down at the shard in his heart, and Fishlegs blinked.

“I…” Krogan starts, swallowing. “I know the myth.”

Krogan gazes at Fishlegs, who frowned slightly.

It’s at that time, when Gothi hands Fishlegs a thick, old tome with opals in the shape of flying dragons inscribed onto the cover. In runes far older than any others Fishlegs has ever seen, are the words: The  _ Shardbearer’s Legacy _ .

Fishlegs gently took the book from Gothi, who then hobbled away, and over to her mortar and pestle, which she began to grind different herbs together into a paste.

Krogan’s eyes remained on Fishlegs the entire time, although when Fishlegs looked at him, Krogan was practically asleep; his eyelids having slipped closed from exhaustion.

There was suddenly a pair of thuds on the deck outside, and Gothi glared at the door.

Stoick slammed it open, startling Krogan awake, and making him give a sharp cry of pain, as the shard started to delve further into his chest.

Sweat began to glitter on Krogan’s skin, and Fishlegs pulled the small, wet rag from the bowl to try and cool Krogan off.

“Dad, please don’t-” Hiccup called, as he clung onto Stoick with an expression of fear.

“Hiccup, Krogan is a threat and I, for one will no-” Fishlegs froze when Stoick’s voice cut out. He heard the chief take a few steps towards the bed, and then, his presence was felt over his shoulder.

Stoick’s anger had all but drained from the air, and it was replaced by a dull, discomforted silence. One that was only punctuated by the quick, hasty footsteps of Hiccup.

Krogan opened his eyes again with a soft moan. The Shard had stopped its quest to drive itself into his heart for the time being, but he was still a trembling mess, and obviously still in pain.

His opal blood drooled down onto the sheets, and Fishlegs turned to look at Stoick, who had a horrified, yet knowing look on his face.

Gothi shoved between the two, and placed a bowl of pungent-smelling paste on the bed next to Krogan.

Fishlegs backed away, and he pushed the others out of the room. Gothi needed time to help Krogan.

Krogan had once again closed his eyes when Fishlegs returned to sit down next to him.

Gothi was rubbing the paste along the wound surrounding the Shard, her fingers being stained with opal, but she didn’t care. 

Eventually, Krogan’s whimpering was growing softer, and he settled back down to sleep.

_________________________________

Krogan awoke a few hours later, to a grumbling stomach, and thirst plaguing his head. He opened his eyes, and shook his head. Everything throbbed at that motion.

Hands helped him to lean back against the soft pillow propped against the headboard of the bed.

“Krogan are you hungry?” Ingerman asked quietly, sounding a bit nervous.

Krogan tilted his head to look over at him, and he blinked slowly, still slightly drowsy.

“Water,” he rasped, swallowing down the little bit of saliva in his throat to try and wet it down again.

Krogan once again closed his eyes, and he gave a deep, shaky rasp of a moan. Fishlegs’s feet moved away from him.

When he returned, Krogan once again opened his eyes, and watched him with a tired, pained expression.

Fishlegs pressed a cup to Krogan’s lips, and water- cool and soothing- crawled down his throat. 

When the boy was done, Krogan nodded a thank you to Fishlegs, and tried to drift back off to sleep.

He eventually slid off into a wistful dream state, and everything went dark.


End file.
